History isn’t my strong suit

What two things are being compared in this epic simile (the odysseus)

Political rights for women grew most rapidly on the western frontier primarily because (1) the settlers were influenced by native american indian societies (2) women greatly outnumbered men in the west (3) pioneer life often required men and women to share responsibilities equally (4) immigrants settling in the west brought ideals of gender equality from europe

What do you think was a drawback to this method of calculating distance